* Posts by tvnerd

2 publicly visible posts • joined 14 Jun 2013

EU sets ball rolling on ominous telly spectrum review

tvnerd

We live in a rainy country- and this means that the satellite signal can fade out (this is called, er, "rain-fade").

Freeview therefore exists so that we can always get the telly.

Girls, beer and C++: How to choose the right Comp-Sci degree for you

tvnerd

I did Computing Science at what was North Staffs Poly. Best thing about the place was that the lecturers knew how things worked - not because they had read them in a book, but because many of them were part of making them happen in the first place. You failed the degree if you failed any programming assignment ... and it's funny how that makes everyone be good at it.

Ultimately, programming without a good view of how things work is like working in a factory, and so you will earn factory wages and should expect to be treated as factory fodder if that is how you are. Programming is not about a language, it is about being able to express abstract ideas in a particular notation ... nothing more, nothing less. I won't hire anyone who tells me that language A is "better" than language B, nor anyone who tells me that the only way to write a programme is to do it "object oriented" and use "scrum". I hire people who are good at understanding the problems that they are trying to solve, can relate those problems to the world around them, and are good at translating that into logical steps in a programme. Some people who are good at programming are good at maths, others are good at classical history. Requiring a maths A level does nothing to indicate that someone actually understands the problems they will need to solve.

Myself ? Not programmed personally (except for personal nerdy reasons) for many years, but have made a few million from building software teams who make great things happen. I'm still (and annoyingly so) good at debugging other people's programmes - and that shows that I'm still sharp enough and capable enough to have a point of view.

Best decision I made ? Going to do my degree at North Staffs instead of waiting a year and doing re-sits to go to Manchester.

In the end, it is not about the institution that anyone went to, more to do with the individual themselves. Normally within about 30 minutes you can spot a good candidates - trouble is that 90% of them are simply factory workers in disguise.